=+Lori: I don’t think so, but just the same, I’d like to be on the safe side.

Deon: What do you mean?

Lori: Well, this is what I’d like to do. I want to pay the convention-related costs in advance this month. I’ll pay the hotel for room and convention space and purchase the airline tickets in advance. In this way, I can charge all these expenditures to July’s budget. This would cause my actual expenses to come close to budget for July. Moreover, when the big advertising campaign hits in September, I won’t have to worry about expenditures for the convention on my September budget as well. The convention costs will already be paid. Thus, my September expenses should be pretty close to budget.

Deon: I can’t tell you when to make your convention purchases, but I’m not too sure that it should be expensed on July’s budget.

Lori: What’s the problem? It looks like “no harm, no foul” to me. I can’t see that there’s anything wrong with this—it’s just smart management.